The Truth Is: Team Obama and The National Media Have To Grow Up Fast

O.K. we’ve enjoyed the love fest and the photo ops of the “First 100 Days;” which is about as meaningful as “Cinco de Cuatro” or any Hallmark Moment.

Now there is real work to do and issues to face and some of us have serious doubt that the Obama Administration and the free press are up to the task.

Consider these few challenges on the president’s plate:

Today Barack Obama will meet with the presidents of Afghanistan and Pakistan to convince both that he needs them to play a greater role in fighting off al-Qaeda, the Taliban and other terrorists: even though the word “terrorist” is practically banned inside the Obama government. Reuters reporter David Alexander wrote that “Obama will warn that al Qaeda and its Talibanallies pose an existential threat and press Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Afghan President Hamid Karzai to toughen their response.”

If the threat is existential, no warning from an outsider is required, right? And if a threat is existential, the leaders of Pakistan and Afghanistan could better articulate how they planned to save their own skins without so many billions of U.S. dollars from us — not to mention the sweat and blood of our troops.

In the Middle East, the President is pressing Israel to accept a “two-state solution” with the Palestinians, as a precondition for Washington’s continued dialogue with Iran about its nuclear program. But Israel has stated clearly that Iran poses an existential threat and it has a plan to deal with that threat. Israel needs no encouragement on its existential threat from Obama: Obama has to hold them back.

Too many dichotomies.

On taxes and spending, Obama has said we need to spend more and the future will take care of itself. On one day he is for big business but on most days he is not. He gave Chrysler to the auto unions and an Italian carmaker of dubious future growth and hatched a plan Monday to raise taxes on American companies widely engaged in the global economic system.

What happened to jobs and growth?

Fortunately even the Democratic Congress is showing signs of waking up. The “no plan for Gitmo prisoners” request for $600 million plus was rejected by the House Appropriations Committee because there is no plan: just a request for money.

When the President of the United States says “cinco de cuatro” and the Vice President urges people not to travel while flu is in the air, in direct contradiction of the president’s policy, this indicates a certain lack of professionalism and thought at the top of the U.S. government. These are not small warning signs: they are alarm bells.

When the CDC tells schools to close for two weeks at the first sign a flu and then reverses itself before the two weeks are up: one should wonder what the hell is going on?

And if allies have to be persuaded to save their own nations maybe we shouldn’t spend more or send more troops.

And why is all this going on? Because the American media is in love with Obama. Until that love story plays out we’ll continue to travel an uneven and nonsensical path…. Without the needed professionalism and thought. And without reporters skilled at making reality of the promises: starting with the promise of transparency, professionalism and thought.

Even though American companies suffer the huge international competitive disadvantage of the second highest corporate tax rates in the industrialized world, Obama continues to scorn doing anything about this as taking us “back to the failed ideas of the past.” On Monday, Obama was out promoting still more tax increases on corporate America. He foolishly thinks that imposing taxes on the overseas investments of American companies will force investment back to the USA. But this is just one more whupping stick in Obama’s arsenal that is going to create full scale capital flight from the U.S. before his term is over. Watch as alert, independent thinking executives start to transform American companies with investments overseas into foreign companies with tentative investments in America at least for now.